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Mon Dieu! Jeff Koons Exhibits At Versailles. Images Of All 17 Sculptures and More in The Palace.



Above: Jeff Koons in front of his "Split-Rocker" (2000) as it graces the famous Palace and Gardens of Versailles.

American Artist Jeff Koons -whose work is being called everything from pop, kitsch.. even zany by the press-- is displaying 17 of his pieces (almost all recent works from the 80s until now) at the Chateau de Versailles (aka Palace of Versailles) from September 10th through December 14th.

The show has been a subject of some controversy. Several dozen people demonstrated outside the palace gates on the opening day, a protest organized by the National Union of Writers of France, a little-known, right-wing group dedicated to artistic purity in France. Others feel that placing the American's works in the French palace is a folly of sorts and the pop art of Mr. Koons has no place in a 'perfectly balanced' building like Versailles.

In addition, there's the potential "conflict' of interest given that six of the 17 pieces are actually owned by billionaire François Pinault who actually employs the show's curator. More on that here.

In his opening remarks at the news conference, Jean-Jacques Aillagon, the chairman of Versailles and a former French culture minister, defended Versailles against its critics. He called Mr. Koons a “cultivated” artist who treated the artistic history of Versailles with respect, and described the exhibition as “a great cultural event.”

Mr. Koons praised the “openness” of France for its decision to exhibit an American artist at Versailles. And he said that he drew his inspiration for his floral sculptures from the “fantasy and control” shown by Louis XIV.

Personally, I find the juxtaposition of the new with the old, the shiny with the antiquated and the preposterous with the traditional to be exhilarating and an effective way to highlight the best of both genres. Koons' work is almost more appealing to me when placed in these settings than when in a more modern and miminalistic space.

Take a look at the exhibit, curated by Elena Guena and the Pompidou's Laurent Le Bon. I have compiled images of all 17 pieces, so now you can decide what you think:




Above: "Split Rocker" (2000)



Above : "Rabbit" (1986)



Above: "Balloon Dog" (1999-2000)

Not everyone in France was as pleased by the installation. Several dozen people demonstrated outside the palace gates, a protest organized by the National Union of Writers of France (a little-known, right-wing group dedicated to artistic purity in France). The group’s chairman demanded that the exhibit be canceled.



Above: "Balloon Flower 3" (1995-2000)


above: "Lobster" (2003)

An aluminum red lobster hangs from the ceiling alongside a crystal chandelier in the Mars Salon. Each of Koons's works is a “dialogue” with the setting, he said. The placing of the lobster in the room dedicated to Mars, the god of war, for example, “goes back to medieval-type times.” The graphics painted on the lobster “almost represent flames and fire. And so there’s this sense that if you stay in the public eye long enough, eventually that could be your fate.”


Above: "Large Bouquet of Flowers" (1991)


Above: "Self Portrait" (1991)

Mr. Koons denied that the placement of his white marble “Self-Portrait” in the same room as portraits of Louis XIV and Louis XVI was a gesture of arrogance. “It didn’t have to do with my own ego, but it did have to do with the playfulness and a contemporary monumentality,” he said.


Above: "New Hoover" (1981-1987)

As to why he put an assemblage of vacuum cleaners among portraits of royal women in the queen’s antechamber, Mr. Koons replied that, among other things, vacuum cleaners are “very womb-like.”


Above: "Louis XIV" (1986)



Above: "Ushering In Banality" (1988)



Above: "Michael Jackson and Bubbles" (1998)

Unlike some of the other sculptures, whose materials and shapes seem jarring, the decorative rococo style of the Michael Jackson sculpture and the use of shades of white and gold help it to blend into its setting.


Above: "Jim Beam Train" (1986)


Above: "Blue Moon" (1995-2000)


Above: "Pink Panther" (1988)

An open-mouthed, bare-breasted blonde holding a pink panther seems to be laughing at a 1729 painting of King Louis XV conferring peace upon Europe.



Above: "Hanging Heart" (1994-2006)


Above: "Chain Link Fence" (2002-2008)



Above: "Bear and Policeman" (1988)

The fabulous images above in this post are from several sources; Getty, Reuters, the Associated Press, La MJC , and the Independent. Special thanks to Ed Alcock and Elaine Sciolino of the New York Times.

The Website:

The website about the exhibition has a fun interface. With a moving X and Y axis, one of which contains the art, the others, the settings, you can align them and enlarge them.



Only not all the 'sculptures' when placed in the appropriate 'setting' actually work (still some bugs on the site I suppose). The site also claims to have both an iTunes tour download and a catalog 'coming soon'.

Here are some screen grabs for you:



Detail of X axis:


Detail of the Y axis:


Match up Y & X:


Then click on it to enlarge and voila!:


Some other examples from the site:




Visit the website to learn more.

The official Chateau de Versailles website.

New Artist Wallpapers From Rollout; Bollywood on Acid & Pantone!




I did a post awhile ago on Vancouver's Rollout, a creative design company that produces custom wallpaper as well as a series of artist designed wallpapers.



Their latest custom designs include two fabulous patterns for Mango Shiva, a contemporary Indian restaurant in Calgary.

When Rollout sat down with Kam Dhillon over some mango lhassi and asked what he was looking for in his custom wallpapers, he thought a moment and said "The Beatles go to Bollywood on an Acid Trip". They smiled and said: "No problem Kam. No problem at all."

The project required 1000 sq/ft of wallpaper for the Girls & Boys Restroom walls and ceilings. The overall aesthetic of the main room was too elegant and restrained but Mr. Dhillon wanted the bathrooms to be lush with vibrant colour and imagery.

I think they achieved it, see for yourself:






The latest additions to their artist designed series (and available for purchase) are the following three designs, including one that's as close to Pantone wallpaper as I can find, thus far:

The Owl, the Cat and the Hand by Pandarosa


Bikes by Telegramme:


Uncoated ( a nod to Pantone)by Jonathan Nodrick:


View below to see how the "uncoated' design is on the roll in it's entirety:



To see other Pantone inspired products, not just wallpaper, read "It's A Pantone Party!" here.


Visit Rollout to see more fabulous wallpaper designs.

Yamaha's TENORI-ON : Digital Music For Several Senses.


Above: designer of the Tenori-On, Toshio Iwai



Media artist Toshio Iwai and Yamaha collaborated to design a new digital musical instrument for the 21st century, TENORI-ON. A 16x16 matrix of LED switches allows everyone to play music intuitively, creating a "visible music" interface.



The TENORI-ON provides six different performance and sound/light modes for broad performance versatility, and these modes can be combined and used simultaneously for rich, complex musical expression.

For DJs & producers it is a unique performance tool enabling them to perform using MIDI and load the TENORI-ON with samples to 'jam / improvise' within their set BPMs.



By holding one of the ten function buttons located on either side of the TENORI-ON and operating the LED buttons you can change voices, change octaves, and apply a variety of effects and variations to your performance.



This unique visual/tactile interface has been specifically designed to allow intuitive, instantaneous operation of a variety of functions.



TENORI-ON “Modes”
The TENORI-ON 16 x 16 LED button matrix is simultaneously a performance input controller and display. By operating and interacting with the LED buttons and the light they produce you gain access to the TENORI-ON's numerous performance capabilities.

The TENORI-ON provides six different performance and sound/light modes for broad performance versatility, and these modes can be combined and used simultaneously for rich, complex musical expression.


Above: Creating light and sound with a finger

Layers
TENORI-ON layers can be thought of as “performance parts” or “recording tracks.” The TENORI-ON has a total of 16 layers. Separate notes and voices can be assigned to each layer, and all layers can be played together in synchronization.

The 16 layers are divided into six performance mode groups. The six modes have different note entry methods and operation. Up to 16 layers created using different modes can be combined for rich, complex musical expression.



Above: hardware details

Blocks
Once complete set of 16 layers is called a “block.”
The TENORI-ON can store up to 16 programmed blocks (16-layer groups) in memory, and you can switch from block to block instantly during performance.

You could, for example, create a musical composition in one block, then copy that composition to another block and edit it to create a variation of the original composition. Or you can load a number of previously-created compositions into separate blocks from an SD Memory Card and switch between them to create variation during playback.


Above: collaborate and share or send music

Click images to enlarge:



To see all the technical specs go here.

It's available for purchase now. Price? Not quite music to your ears at $1,200.00 USD.
Buy it here.

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C'mon people, it's only a dollar.